Women’s World Cup: Home comfort as OZ make 1st semis

BRISBANE, August 12

Co-hosts Australia beat France 7-6 in a dramatic penalty shootout to reach the last-four stage of the Women’s World Cup for the first time after their quarterfinal finished deadlocked at 0-0 following extra time today.

Australia goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold saved three French penalties and missed one herself in the shootout but it was teenager Vicki Becho hitting the post with the 12th spot-kick that opened the door for the hosts.

Cortnee Vine showed nerves of steel when she stepped up to fire the ball past Solene Durand into the bottom right corner of the net and send the Matildas into a semifinal against England on Wednesday.

The substitute winger raced back towards the centre circle to celebrate with her teammates as the stadium and fan zones around the country exploded in delight.

“It’s unreal,” said Arnold. “At the end of the day, it’s my job to keep the ball out of the net. And thankfully I could do that for them. But we all do it for each other out there, and they have my back 100%.”

Russo gets England home

Sydney: Alessia Russo’s second-half goal lifted England to a thrilling 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Colombia and into the semifinals for the third consecutive time.

Lauren Hemp also scored for the European champions.

“It’s exciting, what more do you want in front of a home crowd?” Russo, who was named Player of the Match, said. “We got a bit of that tonight against Colombia. England fans can always dare to dream.” — Reuters